Health premiums to rise 27 percent in Michigan market

Oct. 25, 2017

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Premiums will rise an average of 27 percent for the hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents who buy their own health insurance.

Consumers eligible for income-based tax credits will be protected from the increasing premiums.

The state Department of Insurance and Financial Services published the rates Wednesday. Enrollment for 2018 begins in a week.

Eight Michigan insurers will participate in a federally facilitated marketplace formed under the U.S. health care law. In each county, there will be at least two insurers selling plans.

The state has said the premiums are higher than expected because President Donald Trump recently ended cost-sharing payments to insurers for providing lower-income people discounts on out-of-pocket costs.

About 80 percent of Michigan customers on the federal marketplace qualify for tax credits to offset their premium costs.